No Man's Land
by LazyKiss
Summary: A land with no name and ownership. A land where secrets grows from flesh and wither in blood. A land where reunion and separation are brought by death. Two ninjas crosses path. What would become of them, fate wonders. AU. Mild M.
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

Somehow, they always knew.

He liked to think it was some long-forgotten animal instinct. The way a dog could sense the difference between an animal lover and an animal abuser. The way hares always seemed to know where to avoid, leaving the awaiting trap for the more vulnerable kinds. Either way, though, the ending was always inevitable. And he was patient.

He watched carefully and silently as the young man who was recently introduced to a brand of emotion, larger than devotion and loyalty, practicing his kata in the Uchiha compound with renewed vigor. His movements accompanied with an air of passion; rhythmic and unbound like his new heart. The usual scowl was there but he reckoned it looked different. It was softer, somehow. His obsidian eyes were focused but they lingered impatiently towards the forest, seeing a beautiful pink flower somewhere beyond the ivy gates of the restricting compound. His lips were pressed into a thin line, willing himself to numb the lingering sensation of last meeting's kiss. He was distracted, but the forcing focus he applied grants him perfect execution of his complex choreography.

He vaguely wondered what wires had been crossed in the evolutionary chain that led shinobi to believe the stunts that they pull behind the clan's back can remain safe and hidden. He wondered if this was even a stunt. Certainly it was not an act of rebellion, nor was it the beginning of anarchy. He knew Sasuke served the village faithfully and loved the clan unconditionally. It was just... choices. Unfit choices. Unfit choices he wished he could make. However, unlike his younger carbon copy, he was a coward. He was a pacifist but he lived in deception. On top of his pretence in supporting his clan and village, he also pretended to deny love. He claimed it was a dogma of destruction and the epitome of futility. And his brother bought that policy… until he met her. _Like spring_, he remembered the longing whisper of his clueless little brother. _Like cherry blossoms,_ he remembered the longing sigh of his foolish brother. _Like..._ he remembered the words lost in the air as his dear little brother tried to describe the girl with no possible description.

He felt his own heart constricted, and he forced himself to concentrate. Sasuke would soon leave once it reaches midnight. And he would follow and carry out his duty as Konoha shinobi and Uchiha clansman. The village might not be aware of his doing – or undoing – but the council was. What Sasuke did was treachery, and the council and _himself_ had decided that such act was too offensive, it deserved proper handling. This was out of his hand. He could not protect his little brother anymore. Not if he wanted the village to prosper.

They always choose the unclaimed land. He supposed it made a lot of sense, in a way. It was the only place where law could not tear them apart. If the others were to try to arrest them, there would be many escape routes that were too close to borders filled with smaller villages, watching eyes and listening ears. That sort of thing tended to draw no small amount of unwanted attention. Plus, they were careful. It's near impossible to catch them.

He saw Sasuke move into the shadows and sped off into the night. He followed and kept a careful distance.

Over time, he learned: the key was to pick the right time. Preferably when they were too busy discovering how bright the moon is or how loud their heart beats against each other. It pains him to admit the main key was also Sasuke's trust in him. It was supposed to be an easy betrayal since he was so attuned to the village's safety and the council's order. But it wasn't. They were brothers by blood and name. His beloved brother had found happiness – or something akin to it at least. He can see the differences in Sasuke. They were small, unnoticeable and well hidden but he had known Sasuke for a lifetime. There wasn't a single thing about him that would not pass by his eyes so easily. He may try to hide it, but it was evident in his act and speeches, no matter how small it is.

And it pains him, kills him, to punish his little brother for the love he found with the changes. It was not fair. It was cruel. It was immoral. But since when had shinobi been fair, pleasant and moral?

Sasuke stopped at a field of wildflowers and he hid in the darkest shadow, even though he knew they were already faintly aware of his presence. He couldn't see with Sasuke's back facing his vision but he could literally feel the deep searching gaze on her pale white skin, the yearning to kiss her soft supple red lips. To wrap his arms around her petite waist. To breathe in her scent and drown in her warmth. To free her of her constraints and to move within her, with her and hear her scream his name. The unspoken words passed between them as the gentle wind kissed their skin and the leaves danced around them.

He swallowed thickly and tried to act ignorant –

"_Sasuke-kun…"_

"_Sakura…"_

_They nodded, turned and faced the man with spinning bloodied eyes with acceptance, agreeing that the afterlife was where they would finally be reunited in a complete order._

– because regardless of how his beloved little brother had found the love in this unclaimed land, he still needed to end their life.


	2. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

* * *

_I was going through a few unpublished, unfinished, abandoned fanfic files that I've written and found this. I don't exactly remember what inspired me to write this in the first place or what had prompted me because at the top of the document, it wrote, "Prompt: Sakura, Kiri, armistice". Well, that's interesting. I found this to be poorly written. It was very vague and the grammar was horrendous (more than usual I mean)! But something about it attracted me and I couldn't help but feel the need to publish it._

_But before you proceed, I must warn you that this is undeveloped. I'm not sure I like it but I find it interesting so I spent my time on it and had fun! _

_Lol. I'm nervous with this story because it's something I've never read on fanfic and I wanted to try with something different! I'm like "Oh, who the panda cares. Imma give it a go."_

___So give it a try peeps! Read and review please._

_Hehe._

* * *

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

* * *

**No Man's Land**

The air was cool and the dark clouds in the midnight sky above were drizzling light rain but she paid the weather no heed. She had far more important things to worry about. Like the nins trailing somewhere close behind her.

She couldn't see them but she could definitely hear them. They moved so swiftly, so silently, and with such devastating precision that set her on edge but one of them, were being painfully loud in the otherwise silent forest. His chakra was not properly masked and there were no discretion whatsoever in his movements; as if he was demanding attention. Each landing on tree branches were marked with a loud thud and a strong chakra push to the feet to propel himself further ahead in order to keep up with her, unnecessarily wasting too much chakra and giving himself away. Sakura would've scoffed at his blunt idiocy if not for the fact that he seemed to be the strongest out of the three men cell alarmed her. His strong chakra signature alone was a tell-tale sign of what kind of a fighter he was.

Sakura gathered more chakra into her feet and focused on her path, intent on losing her pursuers. She jumped down to the ground to gain a level of speed. When they followed her, she smirked and started to run in random patterns trying to confuse them. She occasionally hopped on the lower tree branches but after a few meters, she dropped back to running on the ground. She decided to jump onto the higher tree branches to finally conduct a wild goose chase in order to thwart their plans. But then, the drizzling rain became heavier and heavier until it was almost impossible to see. The heavy downpour started a sudden reversal that balked her hopes. The branches were too slippery it was almost impossible for her to run without tripping and slipping down, even with chakra. The heavy thuds of rain droplets on the surface blocked her hearing but she knew her chasers were probably facing the same problem as her.

Reluctantly, she stopped and hid behind a big tree carefully masking her presence and began to prepare herself for the worse. Despite the land she hailed from, rain had never been kind to her. She controlled her ragged breathing and made sure that she didn't miss any movement. Then, she heard a silent landing a few meters from her position. Her well trained ears tried to pick up more movements but she only heard the rain slapping angrily against the ground. She had a feeling that the nin she heard was not the loud one she had been keeping her attention on. Frustrated but worried as hell, she tried to even her breathing and focus on her surroundings again. Trouble was near and she could feel it. The fact that she was separated from her team made her curse her bad luck.

All of a sudden, a kunai flew straight into her face. She lunged to the side in the nick of time and immediately jumped behind another tree pulling out a kunai of her own brandishing it protectively in front of her. She tried to sense her enemy's chakra to pinpoint his positioning but he was silent and quick so it took her by surprise to suddenly find him in front of her. Sakura tried to jab the kunai into him but he caught her wrist and tried to pin her to the tree. She in turn pulled her hand in which he had in a vice like grip forcing him to skid into her, and aimed a punch into his stomach to which he stopped with his free hand engulfing her small fist in his larger one. They were locked in this position so Sakura knew that soon it would be a battle of strength; one she wasn't keen on. She wasn't exactly a muscle person so she was worried that the nin would win if she was subjected into such a fight. What was worse was that he was a Dōjutsu user. The gleaming red swirl in his eyes didn't go unnoticed by her. Not knowing what harm such ocular jutsu can cause; she struggled to keep her eyes away from his burning orbs. Remembering her short training from some time ago, she focused her chakra into her fist and pushed the nin away.

He staggered to a halt and visibly sized her up. This enraged Sakura for she was sure that he was underestimating her. She growled and casted hand signs before slamming her palm onto the ground. The enemy didn't tense or give any sign of being wary of her jutsu casting like she hoped but waited for the affect. She took the time to regard him carefully. Despite the rain, she could make out his tall and slim but muscular figure. His stance was brimmed with confidence and feline-like elegance that suggested he was a ninja with powerful upbringings. She wished to see his face but it was hidden behind the darkness and curtains of rain. Despite not being able to see it, she was sure that only aristocratic features can justify his physical and aura.

When nothing seemed to happen, he moved towards her as he unsheathed his katana. Sakura smirked and saw his movements faltered when the ground suddenly started to melt and engulf his legs, like quicksand. He tried to get out but the ground was intent in swallowing him whole. Knowing that his teammates were around, Sakura used the time to run but she wasn't able to go far because a clone suddenly blocked her path and engaged her in a taijutsu battle. Sakura was taken by surprise. She knew the nin was still struggling in the quicksand but in order to stop her from running away, he cleverly used his clones. Panic seeped into her system. If he was able to device such a quick plan then she was sure he would be able to get out of her trap within seconds.

True to her predicament, the clone disappeared when she landed a punch on it and was replaced by its owner. Once again, she used chakra in her hands and used it to push him away when they came to close contact. She immediately ran and tried to hide behind a big tree once again as she was showered with sharp deadly thrown shurikens that embedded itself onto the bark of the tree.

Drawing laboured breaths, she tried to gather her wits about her. She was shocked and worried she couldn't make up a good escape plan from the sudden chaos she had found herself in. She knew she was outnumbered and she knew that her team was probably already half way back to their village to, hopefully, get backup and inform of the unrecognized nins in the no man's land. Well, they better. If they weren't, she swears she was going to castrate their faces painfully slow with an extremely blunt kunai. She was alone and had to face this on her own, which suddenly scared her.

Sakura went fully rigid when she heard the arrivals of the whole team. Judging from their movements and chakra signature alone, Sakura was able to deduce that they were strong and skilful. One of them had proven it well enough. She peeked around the big tree bark and saw three dark figures closing in. She cursed her luck and wondered if the gods were out to get her. A kunai lodged itself just a centimetre above her head. Throwing colourful words towards the heavens above, she quickly jumped away and was met with a flying punch in the head. Thrown from the impact, she felt herself flew and crashed onto the wet muddy ground painfully. Something warm trickled down her face but she ignored it and focused on the pain that made her skull felt like it was being cracked open. When a kick tried to land itself on her chest, she caught the foot but was unable to block the other one as it swung into her with a swift force that knocked her breath out. She struggled to her feet, dazed, only to be knocked down once again with a blow in her midsection. Doubling over in pain, she failed to notice the blade of a sword settling on the back of her neck.

"Where are the others, Kunoichi?" A deep rich voice asked.

She barely heard it over the splashing of the rain and the thunderous ringing in her head. She only groaned painfully. Feeling the blade that was finally drawing blood, she stilled and tried to steady her irregular breathing.

"Where are your teammates?" The same voice asked again.

"I don't know."

She didn't hear him but she was sure the owner of that damned voice had snorted. She screamed when a sudden swipe of the blade cut through the muscle of her arm.

"Where are they?"

"I told you, I don't know." Sakura growled through gritted teeth.

She gasped when a foot collided with her head. The renewed feeling of having her skull cracked open made her wished that the enemy had at least the decency to kick somewhere that wouldn't affect her judgement and orientation. She clutched her hands on her head in an attempt to lessen the pain. Not being able to think correctly, she almost forgot that she had the ability to make the pain go away.

"Ne, don't you think it'll be useless if she's knocked out?" The loud one she had been keeping an eye out for said.

_Not really,_ Sakura thought bitterly as she tried to heal her head without the others noticing as she tries to appear like she was just shielding away from more assault.

"Not that she is to begin with."

_Well, fuck you too,_ she thought unceremoniously. After a brief moment, her bleary vision cleared. Worried that she might alert them of her regained senses, she kept kneeled over on the earth pretending she was still in pain and tried to formulate a plan to get out safely, all the while keeping tabs of the movements she could get from her limited peripheral vision.

"Come on, man. She doesn't know. Let's just scout the area or something."

Much to her dismay, the loud one didn't seem to be in charge. He seemed like a fool-able person and kind enough to let her go. It was her fault that she didn't consider the other two. Now that they were gathered there in the middle of the thick forest, she was able to get a better grasp of the feel of their chakra. The loud nin remained the one with the most pronounce raw chakra, the one she combatted with a repulsive and oppressive well-trained energy while the last, extra carefully masked chakra that was almost impossible to recognize its nature. They were all a threat.

"Negative. They purposely split in order to alert their comrades."

_Or, we panicked because we encountered you guys slaughtering a bunch of thugs so we took off blindly, separately, stupidly, _she sarcastically suggested in her head upon hearing the last member of the team spoke.

"There's high chance they would have backup coming by now. This Kunoichi wasted most of our time. We should've chased them singularly," he continued.

_You're welcome._

Sakura remembered that the reason they had followed her was because her team had accidently 'walked in' into their carnage of a group of thugs. When they fled, she had chosen to attract their attention by flaring her chakra just after realizing her teammates had went separate ways, making it seemed like she was more of a threat than them. Call it noble or stupid but she was worried that her teammates wouldn't last facing these men so she took the liberty to save them and have them the chance to alert their village. Again, she was going to castrate them if they didn't come back with backup.

"What is your affiliation?" The deep serious voice from earlier asked again.

Sakura groaned and pretended like it was hard to answer him, which had been true if she hadn't healed herself.

"Answer me, Kunoichi." He demanded.

"Kiri." She gasped out.

She heard the loud one cursed profusely and briefly saw the other two tensed. For some reason, she felt oddly proud that her bloody village could elicit such a reaction but it roused her suspicion as to why the group of nins would be affected by her proclamation. They were in the no man's land between Fire country and Water country anyway so her presence there wouldn't be that questionable. Is it politics or ninja battle affairs, she wonders.

"Damn it, what do we do now?"

Really, what was up with them?

Are they the mortal enemy of Kirigakure or something to be that disturbed by her revelation?

Sakura chanced a glance upwards towards the loud nin but before she could properly take note of his appearance, the same foot connected with the side of her face once again, blinding her. The kick was hard and precise making her rolled over again in the muddy ground. She was drenched in cold rain and blood, and the hammering pain inflicted repeatedly to her head was beginning to make her see black spots and hear even more confusing ringing in her bleeding ear. At this rate, a serious concussion would be her cause of death and if she was miraculously saved, she would most probably suffer from retardation from the force and trauma her brain was receiving.

She wasn't feeling so good. If they continued, she would seriously die. She was weak from running and the assault, and her chakra was halfway depleted due to her previous mission before the encounter. Not caring anymore about discretion, she openly raised one of her hand to her head and channelled medical chakra to it. She didn't see the surprise look on each of the nins around her. While she healed herself, she heard the three of them argued but it slipped pass her hearing. She was far too focused on the relief from pain that she didn't hear one of them leaving.

"Our business is done here. By the rules of the Armistice, we are to disengage and prevent further hostilities." The deep voice said darkly.

Armistice? Does that mean they're… damn… her chakra was extremely low. It was beginning to flicker dangerously so she automatically stopped, the throbbing reminding her of the unfinished job. Sakura tried to push herself up but she was too weak. She cursed once again inside.

"Sorry." The loud nin apologized, taking her off guard.

She heard retreating steps and forced herself to lift her head up ignoring the mind-numbing pain. She wanted to know who these people were. It was the only information she could get if she was to report back to the village. Her vision was hazy and the pelting rain was certainly of no help but her sight fell on the blurry back of the two figures; a blonde and a raven haired, wearing black uniforms with green flak jackets which had red swirls on the back.

Figures… of course it would be the tree-huggers running clandestine operations in the no man's land. It was either them or us, Sakura thought severely.

The rain continued to pummel relentlessly on her and the cold was starting to creep into her bones. Despite the need to stay awake, she felt herself slipping away. Her trembling body gave up and plopped to the ground with a resonate thud. Her heavy eyes dragged close and the darkness swallowed her whole.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

* * *

_So there you go!_

_What do you think? I know, it's not much. Truth to be told, I'm not even sure if this is worth continuing because I'm not sure if it's good. I find it interesting but I don't know about you guys. I found a draft of the plot and characters but I didn't like it so I figured that if I were to continue there was a lot of reconsidering and reconstruction to be done. And I'm not even done with TUD (The Uchiha Dictionary) which was supposed to be finished by now but yeah... procrastination. As usual._

_So yeah, don't know what to do with this. Help me decide? _

_Thank you for reading and have a good day!_

_Oh, and don't forget to review and tell me what you think! I'd really love to hear your say about this... thing I've written. :D_

_BTW, did you hear that if you review a fanfic, your wishes come true? _

_..._

_Yeah, I suck at trying to make people review my stories. Gotta try though. :P _

_Much love to you awesome people. You rock like a Panda!_

**_Kissa_**


	3. Chapter 2

**Author's Note:**

* * *

_Thank you TrueFan31, Count Freakator and SoKira for your kind reviews! and the follows and favourites too! Because of that, I decided to give this chapter a shot. :)_

_I have a feeling that this fic won't have much romance but it's still SasuSaku. I mean no one can resist writing a SasuSaku. It's like the classics! You just have to like it! _

_Hehe. So here's my attempt at another chapter. Sorry in advance for any grammar mistakes! Enjoy!_

* * *

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

"Sakura Haruno reporting, Mizukage-sama." Sakura said as she bowed deeply in respect.

Despite his height, soft demeanour and child-like appearance, Yagura gave an air of authority and spoke with volumes that commanded attention. He has messy, light-grey hair, pink pupil-less eyes and what seems to be a stitch-like scar running from under his left eye all the way down his cheek. He was always wearing his ready to battle attire underneath his Kage robe. His prized weapon, a staff-like pole with uneven sized hooks with a green flower on the larger end propped carefully on a wall close to his office table. He was constantly guarded by ANBU although he barely needed them for he was more than creditable with his power, strength and skill with the additional tailed beast to boot. A Kage like him would take a village of ANBU to kill, she believes.

Currently, he wore upon his face a grave expression that caused Sakura distress. She never did like to fail her beloved Mizukage and would rather die on battlefield than coming back home with a failed mission. She was taught to love him, to respect him, to obey him and to never fail him. It brought her great shame for not being able to carry out her role as a perfect shinobi for the village, for him. Truth to be told, the Fourth Mizukage was one of the reasons that made her life less cold, misty and unhappy. He never does anything for her but his nods of approval at every successful mission was more than enough to make her swell with pride and push her on for another day. Because she never had a parent and never had a true sensei, the Fourth became the remaining idol that she looked up to.

His calculating eyes travelled across her stiff recovering figure and finally landed on her face. She wasn't comfortable looking into his beautiful pink orbs so to be formal and respectful; she stared at a spot just above his head.

"Proceed." His smooth, not child-like, voice commanded.

Sakura nodded and recounted her team's at first successful mission to eliminate a group of rogue ninja on the southern part of the no man's land. She explained how the mission went smoothly despite the extensive battle with the rogue ninja and would have been able to return back after a day or two. However, things went downhill and she described their encounter with a strong group of Konoha nins possibly of rank Chuunin maybe Jounin who were eliminating a different group of high profiled thugs in the area as well. Naturally, encountering other nins from different village on field meant trouble especially after the war despite the temporary peace. She explained how her team members panicked and fled and how she took the initiative to avoid any suspicion and harm by attracting the Konoha nins and fought them.

Sakura paused. She remembered that dark person who had easily beaten her without much effort. It irked her when she thought about the humiliation that man had made her go through. Never before had she been kicked in the face _repeatedly_ to unconsciousness. She knew by reporting this, it would make her seem like a lesser shinobi in his eyes but for the sake of being honest, she continued. She told him about her losing, how she was unable to subdue the nins and escape unhurt and how they had briefly interrogated her about her identity. She informed him of how the enemy had hesitated upon hearing that she was a Kiri nin and how they had stated of the armistice policy and left her unconscious in the forest. That was her part of the report. She was sure her teammates had reported the part where they and the backup team had found her knocked out cold three hours later since they went to the Mizukage before her so she left it unsaid.

Yagura nodded but kept silent for a while after she finished reporting. He folded his hands in front of him and looked deep in thought.

"Konoha-nins you say?"

"Without a doubt, Mizukage-sama." Sakura assured.

There was no mistaking the red swirls on the back of the flak jacket they wore.

"Anything else?"

"Yes. One of the nins bore similar chakra traits as yours, Mizukage-sama."

Yagura's eyes narrowed at her words.

"Explain."

Sakura only nodded.

"I sensed two significant chakra sources from one body; one light, another dark. Pardon me Mizukage-sama, although your chakra is far darker but well adapted to your body, his was resisting, a common trait for a young Jinchūriki."

Sakura had been thinking about the chakra signature she felt for quite some time while she was in the hospital waiting to be discharged. It felt familiar yet distant at the same time, like she's met someone with the same chakra but in different bodies. She was no expert in tailed beasts but her infatuation towards the Mizukage during her younger years had led her to research about it making her somewhat knowledgeable in the area. It led her to the conclusion that the loud nin was a Jinchūriki.

"I see…"

"But-" Sakura started, scared that she might not reached the right conclusion. It could be that the nin had some sort of bloodline limit as well or something else. One can never be too sure. There are a lot of shinobi out there with weird abilities.

Yagura nodded lightly upon hearing her doubts. He seemed to be deep in thought so Sakura waited patiently. When he finally heaved an inaudible sigh he said,

"Alright. If that is all, I would like to put this aside and discuss other matters with you."

Sakura was slightly surprised that the Mizukage had other matters to discuss with her since she was rarely involved with the office. Sakura nodded and waited patiently as he stored a copy of her written report in a folder.

"You are aware that the Jounin selections are close…"

He trailed off as he searched for a certain folder in the neat pile on his large mahogany table. She felt her heartbeat accelerate and the palm of her hands beginning to sweat. She struggled to maintain an unaffected look and again, nodded stiffly. He pulled out a paper from a yellow folder and said,

"And it seems like you made it in the candidates list. Congratulations."

Sakura almost cracked a smile but controlled her joy by bowing respectfully.

"Thank you, Mizukage-sama."

"Do not thank me yet, Haruno. You still have to prove yourself, especially after your last mission."

Her heart sank as she was reminded of it. It wasn't her biggest failure. In fact, it was barely something threatening (as far as she knows) to the village and yet, she felt like she had let the whole village down.

"I understand."

"You, Haruno, are full with potential. You inherited both of your parents' bloodline-limit so I expect nothing lesser than you. Your parents…" He paused as his face was suddenly clouded in a strange omniscient expression but continued seconds later, "…they were one of the best shinobi in Kirigakure."

He gazed at her and Sakura tried to gauge his expression. She felt as if he knew something that she doesn't and he wasn't telling.

"I expect you to serve this country as well as they did with undivided loyalty. Let us not forget that we are still in war despite this 'armistice'."

"I will not fail you, Mizukage-sama." Sakura promised.

His gaze sharpened and the air precipitously felt dark and thick when he drawled the ominous claim,

"Your word… or your life."

* * *

Sakura had to admit that her motherland was a dull and miserable place.

Kirigakure literally meant the "Village Hidden by Mist", infamously known as the "Village of the Bloody Mist". Befitting its name, the village is surrounded by a thick mist, with several mountains in the background, making it difficult to find. Why bloody, one might ask. During the early reign of the Fourth Mizukage, Kirigakure began using a new graduation ritual for their academy: death matches for students who wish to move on into the ranks of ninja hence, the infamous nickname, "Village of the Bloody Mist". Students who did exceptionally well during the graduation became prime candidates for the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, a group of ninja skilled with bladed weapons while others merely became disposable tools for the mortiferous country. The ritual is still being practised despite the Zabuza Graduation incident (a boy eliminating the entire graduation class despite him yet to be enrolled in the academy) a few decades ago and a certain pink haired nin had successfully passed hers only 8 years ago.

She imagine an outsider would shudder and gasp in terror upon hearing the story of her first kill at the tender age of 10 year old but for Sakura, it was necessary. She remembered how she had shakily pulled the kunai out of her thigh which her fellow classmate had easily stabbed her with and sliced the throat of the boy with a feral growl with that very same bloodied weapon. When she realized what she had done, she stepped back into the arm of her sensei who smiled approvingly at her and tied her new well-deserved forehead protector on her pastel pink head. It marked the beginning of her bloodied life.

Not many would've chosen this path given the type of country they were living in but it was one of the many professions that paid enough to keep one's tummy from being hungry. Not that the country was poor but the magnitude of wars affected the country's overall system; and the Land of Water had participated in many, many vicious wars. Naturally this led the country to focus its wellbeing into its military growth more than anything else providing ample chance for anyone to join the shinobi career. But with Kirigakure being a village that expected only sharp kunai from the drawer, they created a system that would eliminate fumbling weaklings amongst their ranks. Not many can doubt the strength that came from this village. They were trained, hardened and sharpened to become perfect shinobi whose true purpose was to serve.

Sakura followed the steps of her parents. Unlike many of their peers, they were first generation ninjas, accepted into the academy because their Kage had spotted special talents within them. Her mother has chakra neither civilian nor many ninja possesses and her father has a unique personality, or _personalities _that he was born with. They got married after a strange encounter and were 'blessed' with a 'bundle of joy'. Sakura never knew them. All she knew about them was that they sacrificed their life to protect the Mizukage a few years after she was born. Other than that she knew nothing. She doesn't even know what they look like. She grew up in the local orphanage and was pulled out once she reached academy age. She started to live in her own place when the village started to provide support money.

After she graduated, she was placed in a team and was taught by a sensei who later died within months just as the war was starting. Because they were too young and were not properly trained, they weren't allowed into the main battles like many others their age although Sakura was sometimes taken out of the village with other teams that needed her abilities. If she was not finding injured soldiers, she was placed as the village's defence with her original team and went through a rotation of sensei that was being picked off one by one by death until one day, they were deemed skilful enough to pass as Chuunins to enter the war. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how one would see it), before their squad was able to deploy, the Armistice was announced and the villages was set at a standstill. That was two years ago.

Now her team was constantly out on missions along with other Kiri nins. Unlike her other teammates, she was sometimes not involved in many of their operations; with the mission, yes, the operation, no. It was as if most of the time, her role is the simple medic made to stay behind and wait until something terrible to happen so she could start healing. Sakura admits, she lacks vigor in cold assassinations but that doesn't make her less of an efficient shinobi. They were perhaps a little more experienced than her but she was, as she'd like to think it as, more talented.

As Sakura walked to the training grounds, she couldn't help but sigh disappointedly at the thought of her teammates. She bears no disdain in being in a team with them but sometimes, she thought that she would be better off without them. Sure they have fiery tempers and mad killing skills but sometimes, they just take off and do stuff without alerting her. It frustrates her to no end. They rarely include her in their schemes even when they know that she was just as capable as them. They never seem to appreciate her. Because Sakura was of civilian blood, they often disregard her. It was clear that they lack teamwork and trust.

"Someone looks pretty today." A snide comment made its way to her ears as she neared the sad looking training ground.

She looked at him suspiciously.

"You look like you've been kicked in the face."

"I _was_ kicked in the face, asshole." Sakura replied scathingly and glared at the teenage boy in front of her. Ryo, a boy with shaggy dark brown hair, dark eyes and a tall and fit figure snickered at her response.

"Well, sorry." He said, not even trying to sound apologetic.

"Yeah, that's what I get for saving your ass." She remarked balefully.

"That's what you get for not keeping up with our asses." Sakura glared at him scornfully and itched to move forward and wring his neck.

"Ignore him. We weren't aware that you got separated when we went straight back to the village to alert someone."

A boy of their age emerged from the mist that surrounded the training ground. He had dark brown hair and grey eyes with average height and was slightly bulkier than Ryo.

"Didn't you notice that I've fallen off radar?" Sakura turned to him and snapped.

"We were preoccupied trying to not get caught."

She seethed at his response but held back from getting into a verbal fight with Taro. It wasn't worth her time she decided. Instead, she huffed and rolled her eyes.

"Okay, fine. I get it."

Taro stared at her and pointed out, "Didn't you heal your face?"

All of the sudden she froze. What did he mean? Was something wrong? Then she realized she probably didn't fully heal herself. She remembered not bothering to waste her chakra over some silly black and blue bruises after being exhausted from thoroughly checking by herself the trauma on her head, her broken nose and jaws. She remembered to get to it before she visited the Mizukage's office and it appears she had forgotten entirely about it. She should've known from the earlier comment Ryo made but since it's Ryo who's known for saying anything to get her panties in a twist, she decided to ignore the what she thought was a made up jibe. Pretending like it wasn't a big deal (_Of course it's not!_) she relaxed her stance and rolled her eyes.

"Who cares..." she muttered.

Ryo opened his mouth to give another snide remark but the murderous glare Sakura shot his way made him howl with laughter instead.

After Taro had subdued Ryo from his excessive laughing and Sakura from her anger, he proposed that they spar. Because Sakura wasn't up to sparring, she chose to sit out and work on her chakra control instead.

As the two nin was fighting in the middle of the field, Sakura sat some distance away from them to practice what she had claimed her chakra control. Instead, she mulled over the fact that Taro had pointed out the bruises on her face. She felt embarrassed upon remembering the report meeting she had with the Mizukage less than a week ago. Would he judge her for being excessively weak from the swelling purple bruises on her visage? Another question ran through her mind and she deeply frowned at it. She wasn't a vain person so she was sure it was not because of the beauty factor. Besides, she would never think such romantic thoughts about the Mizukage. He was cute but she never pegged him the type that would settle down with any woman. That would be… awkward.

_The point, Sakura, is that the Mizukage had seen you in your flaw-rified glory, _Sakura thought bitterly. And who was to blame for that? That freaking red-eyed, black haired guy, that's who! She had been punched in the gut, stabbed with a knife and even had her body groped by men but she had never felt so degraded and hangdogged by the kicks he did to her face. Never before in her life had anyone damaged her pride in such way. Her head wasn't a ball made for kicking around! Granted she had had been taken by men before and yet that had hurt her less than this… this… _emasculation!_

"Maybe that's not the right word…" she dropped her head and sighed.

While she was staring dejectedly at her lap, she felt like it was suddenly too quiet so she lifted her head only to find her teammates already walking out of the training grounds. It had only been an hour so why were they already leaving? Sakura immediately rushed to them.

"Hey! Where are you guys going?"

Ryo looked over his shoulder and said,

"Mission time. Mizukage-sama called for us."

"And you didn't think to call for me?!" Sakura snapped angrily.

"Meh. You were so deep wallowing in your self-pity so we figured that we should give you some time."

Sakura was about to bark something at him but Taro stopped her, as usual.

"Mizukage-sama is waiting. Do not waste time."

Glaring at them darkly, she did one fast hand seal and poofed away. The two nin stared at the spot where she had just disappeared for a second before Ryo muttered something incoherent. Taro nodded and continued walking to the Mizukage's tower with a suddenly sullen Ryo. As they reached the looming tower that was surrounded by thin mist and strategically placed ANBU guards, they approached the pink haired nin who was waiting for them at the entrance. Taro noticed her face was no longer swollen and perfectly healed. She probably healed it while waiting for them.

Finding herself in the familiar circular office, she waited with hard controlled breaths for the Mizukage to finish speaking. She almost threw herself out the window when he had told them that they were to return to the no man's land to run a scouting mission for a week. Apparently, another team had encountered the same group as they did and similarly in the middle of a group carnage. However, according to the report, they weren't wearing anything that could be identified as Konoha nins but all the descriptions matched Sakura's report.

"Identify, investigate and return for reporting. We need to confirm their identity and motive," he paused and looked at each of them before asking, "Any questions?"

Taro nodded and asked, "We specialize in group assassination. This mission however, calls for a TI (tracking and intelligence) team. Would it not be more efficient for them to receive this mission instead?"

Yagura glanced at Sakura and answered,

"As a matter of fact, I did send out a TI team but they had to be called back a day ago due to unavoidable reasons."

"Besides, Haruno is a brilliant sensor and had the chance to fight them so she would provide great help in this mission." Sakura couldn't help but felt herself redeemed from the praise. "Use this to your advantage. Furthermore, I want them eliminated if it is clear that they are going against Kiri."

Taro nodded while Ryo smirked darkly at the thought of killing somebody.

"I expect better result from you."

With one last look, Yagura dismissed them.

It was unbelievable. In spite of everything, Sakura's exhaustion seemed to have vanished the moment she stepped out of the office, and now she felt like a live wire, buzzing to life and radiating energy. Although the mission sounded light and simple, she still knew it was going to fully exhaust her, mainly because she would have to force her cooperation onto the two most impossible people on earth. Plus, there was no guarantee the mission would go as smoothly as planned. The Konoha-nins they had encountered last time had been too strong, Sakura was sure it was close to impossible to approach them without getting killed.

Her abilities as a sensor had been praised by the Mizukage and she had served even in a Jounin team once while she was still a mere genin. That being said, she was sure that if they were to succeed in this mission, they would need to be careful and prepared. Thinking back to the black haired, red eyed nin, she couldn't help but cringe distastefully. The other side of her wished to slaughter them for what they – or rather _he_ – did to her (one does not simply kick Sakura Haruno's head and get away with it) but her rational side reasoned that it would take more than herself to bring all three down. Besides, this was mainly a scouting mission. She doubted that there would be any killing like the Mizukage had said but one can never be so sure.

But Haruno Sakura knew one thing; to redeem her dignity and have her own subtle revenge, she would make sure that this mission will be a success.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

* * *

_Take that procrastination, I finished a chapter! HAH! IN YO FACE!_

_Okay. In this chapter Sakura seemed obsessed with fact that she was beaten up by incessant kicks to her head. Some may think this is... I dunno, not something to get so worked on about but considering that she regarded herself highly despite her low upbringing and the 'pride' factor, I guess it would make sense if she wants some sort of revenge. Trust me, getting kicked in the head is really not pleasant and it leaves you with a bitter feeling. My friend has been through enough fights (she's a martial arts practitioner and wishes to join the MMA) and I've heard enough of her spirited rants about it that I kinda get it._

_So this took an obscene amount of time to write. I realize that. But I finished. That's what matters the most. I think._

_I've reviewed this chapter for any mistakes, but my eyes aren't perfect, so if you see anymore, please let me know. As always, any and all comments and critiques are very much appreciated... but be nice... I'm sensitive, like a baby. XD_

_I'm starting to draft out the next chapter, but it might be a while until the next update. _

_BTW, did you hear that if you review a fanfic, you get this immense feeling of being heard and appreciated?_

_..._

_Yeah, trying to persuade you to leave me some food for the happiness._

_ :P_

_Much love to you awesome people. You rock like a Panda!_

_**Kissa**_


	4. Chapter 3

**Author's Note:**

* * *

_Thank you TrueFan31, Count Freakator and SoKira, again, for your kind reviews! Welcome newcomer Eternal Cat Moon into our humble circle! And heyyyyyyy, readers. What'sup?_

_Okay, so. There was a teeny weeny change in the previous chapter but it wasn't worth checking out since I'll say it here anyway. And I would like to clear a few things up first for those who are still reading with a bold WTF caption over their heads._

_1) Sakura is from Kirigakure (if that is not made clear enough) and is 18 now with attitudes._

_2) She is also a talented sensor and medic nin with bloodline limits (as mentioned before, to be developed, nothing too fancy, she's not a mary sue)._

_3) Ryo and Taro are my made up characters (they have really... quick endings)._

_4) This DOES NOT follow the Naruto universe... by much at least, BUT the other characters will stay with their own place of origin except for Sakura._

_5) Non massacre Uchiha._

_Okay, so... I have no idea what else to declare. If you're still intrigued, do not hesitate to ask. I'll try to clear it up for you. Big smile._

**_Warning:_**_ Mature language and content._

* * *

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

* * *

Bodies littered the ground and was soon dragged into a pile and set aflame.

All evidence eradicated.

Three men nodded in approval at the sight of the cleared field, as if the heinous amount of killings did not take place just hours prior.

But there were witnesses and they smirked in the shadows.

Silence and the only remains was a circle of burnt ground and a pungent smell that lingers.

They left. _They_ followed.

Darkness bled into the horizon as the sun disappears behind the mountains. The air was still and the night was eerily silent. Three figures clad in dark forest green moved about in their makeshift camp wearily. Not many words were passed and one frustrated blonde was driven to the brink of boredom from the thick silence. Conversation starters (Do any of you got extra ramen for me? Hey, Teme, what do you think ramen tastes like with chocolate?) were flippantly ignored and more often replied with threatening glances and dark threats.

Naruto Uzumaki, a boy with clear blue eyes and whisker-like scars on his face, grumbled distastefully at his teammates' stick-up-their-asses attitudes and plopped down unceremoniously onto the ground with his arms crossed near the campfire. He stuck his tongue out childishly at the back of his two teammates and tried to keep his mind off of his grumbling stomach by staring into the fire. Just because they felt suspicious with their quiet surroundings doesn't mean they should give him the cold shoulder and deny him the luxurious food of god. The least that they could do was to give him an extra ramen cup - since he had ran out of his days ago - to enjoy while the both of them are busy tensing their muscles at every single tiny sound. Then maybe, _maybe_, he would then try to be quiet as they had painfully tried to make him do since the beginning of the day. He tried his luck again and asked for some ramen only to be responded with a silent "shut up" and an intense glare.

What an awful combination of asshole and jerk, he thought. They had been tense – more than they usually were – these past few hours that it was beginning to grate on his nerves. So what if it was quiet? There ain't a village in the middle of the dark spooky no man's land's forest. So what if it was awfully still? It's freaking late in the night, animals went to bed. So what if it was-

A sudden chill crept up his spine and before he could make any sound of surprise, his body froze and a figure was in front of him, pulling his shirt up and touching his mark.

* * *

The retard stomped annoyingly towards the campfire, landed on his ass and sulked. Sasuke thought that after his order of silence, the blonde misfit would finally shut up but such wish was off reach. After the sound pollution from his loud grumbling stomach, Naruto decided to further his conquest to annoy the shit out of Sasuke by constantly asking for ramen. He and Sai both ignored him but occasionally threw scathing looks that promised intense pain to scare the annoying blonde into silence but it didn't work, it never did. Over the years Naruto had built some sort of immunity towards the Uchiha's glares that could ripple even the calm in the strongest of Konoha. Sasuke threatened to drown Naruto in his Tsukuyomi if he doesn't shut his flappy mouth up and to his relief, Naruto did. However, his peace was short-lived because Naruto started to shoot random questions just minutes later. Naruto was either fearless or painfully stupid to be unaffected by his deathly threats. He strongly believed it was the latter.

He ultimately decided to tune Naruto out, as he usually did, and sit to relieve the slight numbness from standing too long. He knew he should be on guard but he thought that a short easy rest wouldn't cause much harm. Then he took a swig out of his canteen and stares leisurely into the fire and occupies himself with the dancing flames as it flickers brightly in the darkness providing warmth that gives a pleasurable feeling inside of him. He doesn't feel thirsty but he drank again from his water canteen. He glanced at Sai and saw him drawing in his notebook seriously, as if a sudden inspiration had struck him making him drop his guard for a moment in order to permanent whatever it was with ink on paper. He wasn't thirsty but still he drank more of the cool water from the silver canteen in his hand.

The first sign that something was wrong came when Sasuke realized that he was far too calm and relaxed and seemed to be enjoying himself, something foreign to himself while on duty. He blinked and tried to get up but his body felt heavy and a sudden want to drink again filled his mind… _but he wasn't thirsty._ If he wasn't on guard then Sai would've naturally taken his position as cover but instead, he was drawing as if they weren't on dangerous territory and Naruto, despite keeping true to his idiocy would've recognized a change in their guarding system and it was just odd that everyone looked idyllic and peaceful, which meant... Suiting actions to thoughts, Sasuke activated his Mangekyō Sharingan, causing the foreign chakra of the genjutsu to lose its grip on his system from the sudden rush of active energy. His vision wavered momentarily and when it cleared he saw a nin kneeling in front of Naruto with one of her hand on the seal on his teammate's bare stomach.

His eyes zeroed in on her and tried to place where he had seen that familiar odd and displaced colouring before and barely remembering weeks ago he had beaten up one kunoichi of the same petite physique. _Kirigakure_, he spat at the thought.

Cursing silently for being caught into a genjutsu – not even giving credit to himself even when it was an undeniably strong and dangerously subtle one – he jumped up, swiftly unsheathed his Kusanagi and immediately charged towards the exposed back of the nin. He swung his sword and expected the blade to slice the body in half only to find it clanged heavily with another sharp blade that was as large as an adult's body. His eyes narrowed from the interference. Whoever had foolishly blocked him was about to face his wrath. He could see that the kunoichi tried to ignore him and focus working on whatever it was she was trying to gather from Naruto's seal, while her teammate delays him. Although it was odd for a Kiri nin to know what Naruto was exactly, he couldn't help but wonder if they were trying to figure Naruto out and see if they could gather some sort of intel on the beast caged within his confinement. It was questioning enough that Kirigakure knew that Konoha possesses a tailed beast within their ranks.

His brow knitted together upon that troubling thought. Well whatever it was, he needed to eliminate them for safety reasons. Maybe even capture one as a hostage; one that seems to be the operator of the team, one that seems to be holding most of the group's data and one that seems to be the brain more than the brawl and easy to overpower. The pink oddity seems to fit his description well enough.

Pushing his chakra into the blade, he smirked as the nin pulled away just as the Kusanagi was about to cut through his thick and broad sword. The Kiri nin retaliated soon after with a slash of his sword in a wide sweep, blood cut through the air like a red swath splattering over his body. Primal blood lust, murderous rage and a mindless need to kill was obvious by the loud feral snarl that accompanied his offense. Sasuke was aggravated to find his chest cut open, even when it was only skin deep. He glared venomously at his opponent, a slightly taller man swinging his massive sword for another attack. Sasuke found himself unimpressed by the man's colossal weapon; size determines almost nothing and he had defeated more of a much bigger capacity. The nin brought his sword around at waist height forcing Sasuke to jump back in order to parry the blow.

The nin once again swung his sword with ease in various reticulated arcs despite the weight of the blade. Sasuke jumped and dodged every single blow and even blocked with his own sword. He noticed that despite the brash offence, they were all precise and forcing, as if he knew exactly where the vital points are and where one hit could end it all. With Sharingan, Sasuke could easily predict his movements before the nin could even prosecute it.

Sasuke silently admits that the nin's skills were acceptable, but since he was a man of pride, Sasuke recognized only himself as the better adversary in this little mêlée. If Sasuke weren't paying attention to his pathetic excuse of a teammate's safety, he would've finished him off within seconds. His muscles rippled as he shoved the man back hard enough so that he lost his balance and staggered to maintain his footing. Sasuke smirked and the Kiri's feral being growled swinging his sword with both hands in a wide sweep.

Sasuke moved fast and quick. His assailant stumbled back when Sasuke's sword lifted the sword that injured him up and out of his hand with one swift and powerful blow. It skittered far off into the fire lit camp. His smirk deepens as the nin took a step back with uncertainty. It amuses him how the nin had thought it to be easy to defeat a man of his calibre. Even when he could see the look of utter distaste and hatred on the enemy's face – as tradition dictates that Kiri and Konoha should always maintain their bitter rivalry and animosity – he could still clearly feel the deliberation radiating from every inch of his body. Sasuke's smirk faded into a scowl. Although he was uncertain, he did not feel fear. And Sasuke demanded that sort of aversion from him.

He lifted Kusanagi and pointed its deadly sharp tip directly into the enemy's face. Before Sasuke could plunge the sword into his thick skull, another form of interference blocked his attempt, this time in the form of an ink tiger. Sasuke growled obscenities and watched as the Kiri nin before him took advantage of the situation and jumped for safety into the forest after retrieving his gigantic sword. Sasuke intended to give chase but the oddity of having his _own teammate_ blocking his kill made him turn bloody eyes upon the pale and black haired ninja.

"What the hell, Sai."

Sasuke immediately noticed the dazed expression on his face. At the same time, he noticed that the kunoichi had disappeared but Naruto remained stationary on the same place, his body bare. He realized something was amiss. With a lot of probing with his chakra, he realized that Sai and Naruto were in a heavy cloak of genjutsu. He kept his Mangekyō Sharingan activated eyes on Sai and kept his guard up just in case he would throw another unexpected ink tiger towards him. Not wasting time, he tried to dispel the genjutsu. Indeed it took him more than a few tries to completely dispel the thick cloud of illusion. Sai blinked back into his state of awareness slowly while Naruto shuddered and gasped heavily, his face turning into an ugly colour before he lunged to the side and emptied the contents of his stomach.

"Hurry up. They couldn't have gotten far." Sasuke's deep and smooth voice commanded.

Naruto shakily wiped the corner of his mouth and tried to stand up but the stress forced him to double over and puke once again. Sai seemed to be still disorientated and looked paler than he usually was. Sasuke gritted his teeth in annoyance at his companions' incapability. Without the Sharingan, they were unable to avoid the genjutsu like Sasuke had but the more time they waste on being pathetic, the farther away the Kiri nins would get.

Making up his mind, he ordered,

"Once you're done being useless, follow my trail." And with that, he immediately sprinted to chase the escaping Kiri nins before the trail grows cold.

* * *

Securing the detail of the seal inside a scroll with a certain tag, she turned and waited apprehensively for Ryo and Taro as she stood on the high tree branch concealed safely behind the leaves. Just two days ago, as they were nearing the confirmed Konoha nins, a messenger caught up to them and stopped to brief them on the newly acquired orders from the Mizukage. Apparently, he wanted more than identification and Konoha's motive. He wanted a certain additional detail of the Jinchuuriki she had informed him of. Grimacing, she processed the idea of the scouting mission turning into a recon mission. This was not their field and it was proven to be quite the challenge for the team. They were after all, specially trained assassins and not information gatherer, or spy, or whatever it was those TI people called themselves. Years of honing skills as silent killers without hesitations were rendering her two teammates almost hopeless. They, unlike her, were not allowed flexibility in their career having to focus on one specific job every single time. They were ruthless killing machines and have neither patience nor skills for any sorts of reconnaissance projects. Although they weren't entirely useless since this required swift movements and planning just as assassinating does, she was more worried that they wouldn't be able to control their blood lusting tendencies in taking lives, and just taking it away before anything else. Furthermore, she was also worried about her failing at the very last minute since she felt that the previous mission had jinxed her.

It took them the whole night to devise a new strategy. It took more than a few threats to remind Ryo not to slaughter anyone before she was done with her task and a few more reminders for Taro to stop anything from going wrong with his divertive genjutsu. Sakura was grateful that Taro's useful skills in illusion jutsu would be of use in this mission other than torturing the enemies' mind into a hellish state. Besides, they needed to make sure that they did not cross the line that will sabotage the armistice. It wasn't the right time for any of them to be thrown into the war again. Sakura was sure that a few unclaimed deaths on the no man's land would be discredited immediately. All they need to make sure is to eradicate startling evidence of anyone's participation. That was how things work in the no man's land. It was a policy that both Konoha and Kiri kept following faithfully.

It had been a few minutes into her wait when Ryo finally arrived, a look of utter compulsion on his face. No doubt he thought it a misfortune to be unable to continue his fight and finish the battle with a bloody mess.

"Taro?" Sakura asked looking for her other teammate despite knowing the answer.

"Close behind. Let's go. They're hot on our trail." He snarled unsatisfied.

Without a moment to loose, both leaped from branches to branches. A minute later, Taro joined their rank and blurred their trail with more false genjutsu.

"Only one is chasing. We could take him down." Taro suggested.

"No. That would complicate this mission."

Unsurprisingly, they both growled. Taro was not pleased having unable to feed of screams and wails for the day. However, they kept silent and continued with their evasion. If it was daytime, they could've seen the trees blurring fast by them but it was dark and it took trained eyes to be able to see their path and keeping themselves from landing awkwardly.

Sakura suddenly gasped as a strong chakra entered her radar. Taro glanced her way and realized that his genjutsu had been broken off. Surprise took his features as he realized that someone had successfully broken off his strong genjutsu which was his prided forte. In his life, he only knew a number of people who could actually fight off his illusions; the Mizukage and Sakura were amongst them. He grimaced. The enemy was becoming more of a problem to him. Not being able to torture him accordingly was one and to find resistance was another. Finding himself challenged, he stopped and turned with an animalistic scowl on his face.

Sakura and Ryo stopped and the pink haired assassin hissed,

"What the hell are you doing, Taro?!"

"Go. I'll take care of him."

Ryo smirked and made to join him but Taro raised his arm in a preventing gesture and quietly growled,

"He's mine."

Dark eyes narrowed at him but the dark brown haired nin complied and retreated even when his opponent was stolen. No one ever refuses Taro and if they did, it never bode well for them. Sakura knew as well how Taro operated and was unable to do anything but trust him to stop the tree huggers from reaching them.

"That motherfucker got Sharingan." Ryo cautioned.

Sakura turned a raised a delicate eyebrow at him. Wasn't that a type of Dōjutsu? Does that mean they were messing with an Uchiha? Sakura cursed her luck but Taro didn't share the same sentiment. She could literally feel him grinning evilly at the prospect of having his challenge upped.

"I'll crush his family jewels."

Sakura wasn't quite sure if he meant the Sharingan or the reproductive organ. Either way, she'd be relieved if they get out of this mess (since the Konoha nins were supposed to be trapped in the genjutsu for at least an hour for their smooth escape).

The two left Taro behind and continued with their previous pace. Several long minutes later, Sakura felt two chakra clashing and battling as if the world was at war. She pushed her legs further, determined to escape the battle's vicinity. The feel of raw power radiated from the spot they left a comrade behind and it gripped her system uncomfortably. She glanced to the side and saw Ryo scowling. Even an insensitive person could feel the tremor of rage behind them so she was true to herself when she thought that their Kiri member would have the time of his life fighting and inflicting injuries on himself and the enemy. Taro was known for his rage and monstrous need – not lust, and that was far more terrifying – for blood and pain despite his outward cool and controlled demeanour. He was messed up and would end up 10 times worse if he wasn't careful. For someone to be able to break Taro's most heavily cloaked genjutsu would mean a direct insult to his skills and capabilities and he would respond nothing less to that sort of rise. A simple challenge could kill him and her gut instinct told her Taro would not come out alive. The man chasing them was afterall, stronger than anyone could imagine. And despite herself, she believed it. The only reason for her cowering the last time (and maybe even now) was that she knew her place and limits. That dark haired bleeding eyed man was leagues above her and her chances to defeat him was slim to none. But that doesn't mean she doesn't want to repay him for his deeds. She would make sure that his fall starts from the scroll inside her pouch.

And she'd make sure that his fall would be hard.

However, before she could start to entertain herself with the thought of his downfall, she sensed another person coming nearer; stopping at where she presumed Taro and that Uchiha was fighting and moving rapidly towards them minutes after. Sakura cursed the fact that they were fast to recover from Taro's genjutsu but hoped that it would anger him more so that the Uchiha would cease to exist. She told Ryo to step it up but as usual, he argued,

"I can take him. Lemme slit his throat and show him what Yajuu is all about!"

Yajuu was the name of his prided oversized weapon.

"Don't waste your breath, we're too damned ahead. Let's just shake him off!"

"Damn, bitch. Stop pissing your granny panties. He ain't even a challenge. Let me show you what manpower is." Ryo's words a cutting jest.

Sakura would've killed him if the others weren't trying to kill her. Through gritted teeth, she told him,

"Who cares about your lousy idiot-power. Mizukage will have our heads if this mission fails!"

Ryo smirked and slowed down, a clear sign that he was serious about his words.

"Ryo!" She hissed and stopped just a few meters ahead of him and turned a menacing glare his way.

Once again, he was complicating their mission and being uncooperative. Before she could bodily drag him away, Sakura suddenly felt one familiar source of chakra completely wiped out. Her eyes widened and she inhaled sharply. Ryo paid her attention and without losing a beat, gathered that Taro had been killed.

"All the more reason to stay and fight, eh?"

Sakura looked at him with alarm and staggered backwards. Even when she had predicted it, she was still taken by surprise by his defeat. It had only been 5 minutes! She had expected a longer fight than that. Taro by no means was a regular shinobi. He was a Jounin and was one of the top in their ranks and yet he had been killed. It was a hard hit on Sakura, even when he was one of the main sources of annoyance in her life.

Her shaggy haired companion almost laughed at her sight but the thought of his bestfriend's death awoke the monster in him. Understanding that they had a mission to finish and an act of revenge to carry out, he urged her to run away.

"I'll catch up to you." He assured, and Sakura wasn't convinced, even when she saw that devilish glint in his eyes and that maniacal grin on his face, she wasn't persuaded with her trust in his abilities.

A lot of time was wasted with them arguing and before long, two presences caught up to them. Ryo let out a longing sigh. His fight was coming and this time, he didn't have to hold back. Meanwhile, Sakura was torn between escaping to Kiri's territory and aiding Ryo. She knew he would resent her help and would ended up slicing her in the process by mistake – since he had no control of his bloodlust rage – and it would be even worse if she reported back home without Kirigakure's demons. Lord Mizukage valued them and would be severely disappointed with the loss in trade of meagre information.

But a mission is a mission and she had decidedly lost her role as the medic a long time ago.

Without informing Ryo who was already salivating with bloody hunger, she dashed away as fast as she can with adrenaline coursing through her system. She didn't look back but she could see the scene unfolding through her sensory skills. The bland and sick chakra (as the effect of Taro's mysterious genjutsu) collided first with Ryo's considerably darker and thrilled one and the electrifying chakra that belonged to the Uchiha was fast approaching them, soon to join battle or to pursue her. Since Ryo would be occupied, she was sure that he would chase after her so she created two clones in advance and made them go separate ways in order to create false trails.

To her utter dismay, her prediction once again came true and she was slowly becoming agitated by it. How can she be so prophetic at this time? However, her rational side decided to spring up unannounced—and, in return, she decided to hand control over to it. It told that there was nothing wrong with predicting enemies' movements, in fact, it was beneficial. His fight with Taro would've exhausted him and she checked the feel of his chakra for confirmation. Indeed it was slowly deteriorating and Sakura felt slightly relieved by it but she was still cautious.

The night was quiet minus her ragged breathing and the almost silent thumping of her landings. A kunai wheezed dangerously by her and she spun to the direction of the projectile. Aided by the moonlight, her sharp eyes swept over the small clearing trying to find the presence that had finally caught up to her. She reached behind her back and pulled out her tanto. She brandished it in front of her and listened carefully into the night. The wind slapped her gently and played with her long pastel pink hair while the leaves danced around her.

Right. Left. Behind…

He wasn't under her… was he?

A second later she was answered when her pursuer charged from the sky, jumping at her with his thin long sword slicing downwards. She parried it with her own short blade and cartwheeled away to maintain a certain distance. This time, she was going to play safe. She studied him carefully taking notes of his physical. He was clad in black attire with the Konoha green vest. He was tall and lean but definitely muscular. He had dark midnight hair that was styled in an array of disastrous perfection and his eyes, she noticed, were obsidian and not the deep bleeding red as she had remembered. They also lacked the details she almost failed to catch the last time, but wheels, circles, or triangles she wasn't sure so she concluded that he had opted to turn off his Dōjutsu. He was also fair skinned with aristocratic features, just as she expected only ten times more refined. To sum it up, he was sinfully beautiful.

_And dangerous, _she reminded herself as she gripped the tanto tighter in her sweaty gloved hand.

She saw that he looked slightly worn from his previous fights and she definitely saw the stream of blood running down his head and several other severe looking wounds on his body. But the bleeding head caught her eyes the most. It didn't fit Taro's offence profile and she couldn't help but wonder if he had done that as some sort of revenge for her. She inwardly smiled and made a mental note to thank him (by his grave) later.

"You." His voice knocked her breath out. It was deep and smooth and was awfully appealing. And it reminded her of her own Mizukage, whose voice was so rich it took no effort to demand attention. And apparently, the nin before her shares the same trait although they were very-_very _different.

Sakura remained quiet and kept a steady, cautious gaze on him as he calmly slid his blade into its case. He will not catch her by surprise.

"Hand me the scroll."

She quirked her eyebrow, skilfully pretending to not know what he was on about.

"Tch. Playing dumb is a waste of time." He stated.

She wasn't sure how he found out about the information containing scroll but she was sure none of her members had betrayed that info. Despite their loose bonds, Ryo and Taro had a devout allegiance to the Mizukage and his village.

"You're an Uchiha, aren't you?" Sakura asked hoping to divert his attention while trying to find out more about the shinobi in front of her and an escape opportunity.

"…"

"One of those big clans in Konoha, right? Pretty famous." She tried again, as if trying to start a conversation.

"You…" She looked at him expectantly, "…are annoying."

Sakura glared at him and was tempted to shove her tanto where the sun never shines. Deeply.

Before she could retort, he moved. He was blindingly fast and if it wasn't from her activated sensory abilities, she would've completely missed him; a mistake she wasn't keen on repeating. He appeared behind her and she jumped just in time before he could grab her. He moved towards her again and made to seize her but she danced out of his reach and made sure to swing her tanto as she moved so that she could keep him away. However, the dark haired nin had somehow managed to grab her tanto wielding hand and forced her to drop the weapon. An evil thought came into her mind and she made to kick him where no man can ever survive from the pain. Sakura aimed a forceful kick to his lower part but he deftly blocked it with his other hand, grabbing it firmly. With his strength, he threw her into a tree.

Sakura screamed when she collided with the tree bark.

Quickly, she tried to stand up but a foot pushed her back down. Sakura gritted her teeth frustratingly; he was playing that game again. Sakura molded chakra in her palm and shaped it like a scalpel, then awkwardly tried to cut his other foot that wasn't on her back but he moved in time to kick her face. Sakura saw this coming and raised her crossed arms – the sudden action made her lose focus and inactivating her chakra scalpel – to deflect the attempt. Stopped short, the Konoha nin grunted and grabbed Sakura by the collar and raised her up, slamming her back to the tree. Because of her height disadvantage, she was lifted well above the ground and had to hold on to his forearms for balance.

"Where is the scroll?"

It was in the pouch close to her ass but she wasn't about to tell him that and he certainly wasn't about to wait for her answer. Forcing her by the throat to the tree with just one hand, he used his other one to search her body for it. Sakura was mad because 1) she was choking and 2) she was being molested by a stupid insanely good-looking tree hugger.

She swung her leg up but he immediately intercepted it by grabbing her thighs and forcing it around his lean waist, pushing his body forcefully against her, to keep her in place with a deep growl. Sakura registered the rough tree bark digging into her back painfully and the suddenly extreme close proximity between them. She blushed furiously from his action.

"What the hell are you doing?!" She screeched like a banshee, struggling against him and ignoring the lack of air.

"Shut up." He ordered, his hand once again roaming across her body with a purpose.

"YOU PERVERT! LET ME GO THIS INSTANT!"

He ignored her and in less than a second, his hand went south, patting her ass shamelessly. She felt herself burning with embarrassment and by the time she saw him smirking upon founding the location of the scroll, she was boiling with anger. Before he could take the scroll out of the pouch, she let go of her hands from his choking arm and punched him squarely in the face, not resenting the fact that she had to flaw the face carved by the angels.

The Konoha nin let out a surprised howl and instantly let her go. She fell onto the ground and gasped for breath. Remembering about the scroll containing the tailed beast's seal info, she reached towards her back to feel if the cylindrical hard lump was still there and to her horror, the pouch was empty. She turned to see the Konoha nin with one hand over his broken nose_ and _the other defiling one gripping a familiar looking scroll.

"You… you bastard!" Sakura snarled.

Although he was adamant for the scroll and had used that bodily attack on her simply because it was easier, doesn't mean that he can still do it. Sakura was a kunoichi whom sole purpose was to be used and served but she was still a prided woman. She would not let anyone degrade her and this Konoha shinobi, who supposedly came from a prestigious clan with respectful upbringing could not and would not ever, treat her the same way ever again, even when she was just a nameless kunoichi in his life.

"How dare you touch me." She growled.

"Hn, considering how you tried to attack me earlier, I think we can call it even." He grunted.

Sakura looked taken aback and fought back the threatening blush in her face. Indeed just seconds ago she had tried kicking him in _that_ place but hey, it was self-defence.

She completely ignored his jibe and created a set of clones and charged simultaneously towards him; all armed with chakra scalpels and aiming for the stolen scroll. There was no time to dwell on her (already) loss of innocence so she proceeded to retrieve back the scroll. He parried all of them and when Sakura finally came for her chance, he jumped back and unexpectedly breathed fire. Before it could burn her, she displaced herself with a water clone.

"So tell me… what does Sharingan do?"

"I don't think that's what your Mizukage wants." He replied stoically and scanned the area trying to pinpoint the source of the voice.

"No, but I'm interested."

"…"

"Don't wanna share? Fine. Tell me about your friends then," He glanced to his left, "I find them really interesting. That pale one, he draws well," He glanced to his right, "He looks like you, but I can tell you're not related."

He turned around and faced the small kunoichi who was standing behind him.

"I think you're more interested in getting your scroll back." He said monotonously, feeling a sudden tug on the scroll on his left hand.

Sakura smiled and nodded conformingly, seeing that he had already seen the thin strings on her fingers attached to the scroll.

"And if I can't get it back, I can always destroy it." She informed him albeit reluctantly. Taro did not die for this (and he didn't since he died for his own purpose) and she definitely did not like the thought of continuous mission failures. But the two wire strings were ready and so was the exploding tag on the scroll. If he let go of the scroll, one wire string would pull it back to her but if he would not, a tug from the other wire string was all it needs to destroy the evidence of Kirigakure's involvement since both of the company knew that whatever transpired in the no man's land stays in the no man's land… to an extent of course.

"Aa…"

Sakura tried to keep his piercing gaze but any longer and she knew she would have to pull the string on the tag and run. It didn't help that he was frighteningly beautiful as well. She thought it was very, very, _extremely_ distracting. But she felt the looming threat coming closer as the Konoha nin's companions approached them. Ryo had been sustained while she was struggling with the Uchiha's team member and it had been only mere minutes ago when she realized that. She wondered if he had found out about the reinforcements coming his way (as if he needed any) and had decided her fate.

She took a step back and he took a step forward.

"If you could just stay there and not move, yeah, that'll be great."

If he felt that she was incredulous, he didn't show it. Sakura took another step back and wondered why he didn't use the sword on his hips to cut the string – not that the string was breakable and safe to cut in the first place but it would be of comfort for her to at least see him act in panic. Perhaps he knew that if he cut the string, it would act as an automatic fuse to activate the tag. She inwardly frowned. How hard can it be to fool this shinobi? The answer, she knew, was of course, extremely hard.

"If you could let go of the scroll, that'll also be great."

She waited for his response with hidden nervous and that was when she detected a strange, too small amount of chakra. She knew that chakra did not belong with the nature but it was just extremely small to belong to any human, and it was scattered around the forest. As she was taken by surprise by the sudden small intrusions, she failed to notice an ink rat scurrying towards the Konoha shinobi in front of her.

"Your name."

Sakura looked at him startled by the sudden statement-like question.

"And that's important because?" she promptly answered.

He didn't answer but he kept his narrowed gaze on her, studying her like a hawk. She had long pink hair that flowed past her shoulders, large green eyes and very feminine features that was hardened by training. She was slightly diminutive in size but she exuded an air of brutality despite her girly physical characteristics. She was clad in black and grey of her uniform which consists of black sleeveless shirt, grey waist-guard, dark cropped leggings and short-heeled boots complete with a stripe material around her hands underneath a pair of fingerless gloves. If it wasn't for the dark attire, he would've thought she looked like spring. Though he knew she wasn't fragile - since she was fairly unbeaten, and had put up quite the resistance - but he was sure it wouldn't take much effort to break her into pieces.

However, there was something... something about her that intrigued him but he wasn't quite sure what. For some odd reason, he felt like she was familiar and not through the severe beating from the last time but from times he had no recollection of; like she was reminding him of something or someone. But he remembers nothing.

"Your name, kunoichi."

She opened her mouth to reply, when out of the blue a loud shout sounded from the darkness.

"SAKURA, RUN!"

Startled, she snapped her head towards the forest opposite of her.

"RUN, NOW!"

She obeyed, and sped off with chakra pumped feet. She also pulled the strings and heard a satisfying small explosion behind her; the scroll being destroyed. She turned her head back and saw that Ryo was terribly bloodied and was struggling against three men, swinging his broken Yajuu around with a look that was reserved for hell's most damned occupant. She would help him, but if she stayed, she was sure they would torture her for information. That was to be prevented at all cost. It would be dire for the village if information was betrayed to the other side, especially at this time around. A single thing could be used against the village and war would erupt once again if they were not careful.

It unsettled her to know that Taro died, that Ryo was left fighting the three men and that she was forced to destroy the scroll. However, she could not fathom why it was not as unsettling as the beautiful man with hair as dark as the night and eyes as mysterious as the dark side of the moon that bleeds to red with a name so powerful, it brought fear more than death could.

The Sharingan wielder, the Uchiha clansman… He had asked for her name and Ryo, unbeknownst to him, had answered much to her dismay and it led Sakura to one question that even the world might not satisfy her if it was left unanswered…

_Why?_

* * *

**Author's Note:**

* * *

_Whoa... what is this? I actually finished a chapter? And with plot development? WHOA!_

_Okay, maybe not that amazing but still people, WHOA!_

_Okay, so notes._

_Yajuu means Monster, the titanic-like sword Ryo use (and it's huge, huger than Zabuza's)._

_Taro iz died. I iz killed him._

_Sakura failed her mission yet again. Wonder what she would get when she gets home?_

_I tried (keyword - tried) to make Sasuke as non-OOC as possible and I hope it's successful. I can never write him well, I swear. Sakura on the other hand… ugh…_

_Anyways, I've reviewed this chapter for any mistakes, but my eyes aren't perfect, so if you see anymore, please let me know. As always, any and all comments and critiques are very much appreciated. I may cry like a baby but I take criticism like a man (I think)._

_So by all means, drop me some reviews. Me want reviews._

**_Much love,_**

**_Kissa_**


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